How Old is your Car?

[nissangirl74]

We're just going to go with Daily Drivers for this one. This article states that the average age for a DD is increasing steadily and has since 1997.

http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/10 ... #src=10065

How old is your daily and do you plan on replacing it anytime soon? Do you agree that the topics discussed in the article are what's causing people to keep their car longer?

[NolimitZ32]

I've got a 1995 4runner, one on either continent (NA & Aus) I plan on keeping the one in US until the wheels fall off, and there is no longer enough substantial material left in the body in frame for duct-tape to hold it together. Basically once I can no longer DUCK it, I'll F*^& it off. Refuse to have a computer controlled, emissions for the sake of emissions, "because the market and modern styling guru so and so says it's cool" car. Absolutely not attracted to anything lately, give me simple utilitarian transport and I am happier than a fat kid with a $100 on Bake-Sale-Sunday.

[nissangirl74]

give me simple utilitarian transport and I am happier than a fat kid with a $100 on Bake-Sale-Sunday.

[themadscientist]

I trade DD duties between a 94' Daihatsu truck and a 91' RX7. New stuff doesn't appeal to me.

[frapjap]

I DD all of my cars when the weather is good/when its not snowing.
Miata is 22 years old, runs great, even gets pretty good gas mileage @ 35mpg if the right foot stays out of the throttle.
T/A is 25 years old, probably the most reliable vehicle I own.
Subaru is 6 years old. If it weren't for ski trips, this car would barely get driven.

Back to the point of the thread, I'd guess that folks are holding onto their car because they're finally seeing the mathematical equation that we saw a long time ago- buying a newer car and paying interest on it solely to get better gas mileage is more expensive than the occasional repair and so-so gas mileage on their current vehicle.

The funniest thing is that auto sales are also on the upswing across most of all segments. My guess would be that the older cars have no trade in value when the newer car was purchased, so the owner opted to hold onto it. Another possibility is that the age folks are having children is getting younger and younger. At 11.4 years, they may have already had their current car for a while and could be holding onto it for their kin while they've purchased something new in the mean time.

[WDRacing]

My BMW is a 99 with close 186,XXX miles on it.

[ScrapMetal]

Daily driver: 1999 Chevrolet S10 (almost exactly like the one pictured above), which makes it about 14 years old.
2.2L 4 cylinder with a 5 speed manual. Gets about 24-25 mpg in the city with a light foot and the A/C off.
Has 118K miles on it. I bought it for $500(yes five hundred dollars) from the company I used to work for with 103K miles.
I've owned it for almost a year and a half and all it's asked from me is gas, oil, and a set of plugs and wires.

I've thought about getting a newer 07+ Colorado or Taco or Frontier but used on craigslist the ones I can afford ($6k-$8K) almost all have 150K+ miles.

I feel it's just a better investment to fix whatever breaks on the S10 in the future instead of coughing up a nice chunk of change for a newer truck with more miles than mine.

I plan on getting another 100K miles out of her and the day she finally decides to KO on me I'll have enough money saved up to buy a brand new base model truck straight cash.

[WDRacing]

Having no car payment is 100% win imho. My Dad asked me why I have my 240, my BMW and my Chevy Express? I was like...um, they're paid for.

[Bubba1]

I've got a 1995 4runner, .

You have good taste. My DD is a 1997 4runner with a 5 speed that I bought new, now with 210K+ miles. It's been stored outside for its entire life so it needs paint and a catalytic converter soon (still has the original one). I had to reinforce part of the frame due to rust, but I'll probably keep her a few more years. Its a simple, well built truck that does everything well.

[szh]

With one exception, I have bought my cars new. I do find myself keeping cars longer than I used to ...

Everything from the 1986 Nissan on was paid for in cash (no car loans!) - based on the way I put money aside for future car purchases (have posted on that).

My current daily driver is a 2003 Infiniti M45 and I would like to keep it as long as I can. But, I have been tempted by the Tesla S recently.

Here is my approximate dates of history of personal car ownership (I did drive my Dad's car overseas when I was younger):

1973 - 1980. Toyota Corolla. Bought for my Mom - left it for her when I came to the US in 1974.
1974 - 1978. No car here in the US ... couldn't afford one on a college student budget.
1978 - 1980. Ford Fiesta.
1980 - 1983. Mazda RX-7.
1983 - 1986. Volkswagen Rabbit GTI.
1986 - 1991. Nissan 300 ZX Turbo.
1987 - 1991. Mazda 626 GT Turbo (daily-driver for Winter in New England ... did not want to drive the Z in snow).
1991 - 1998. Infiniti Q45.
1998 - 2003. Infiniti Q45 (was a 1995 model - my one used car purchase ... lease return).
2003 - Now. Infiniti M45.

I have been an owner of a Nissan/Infiniti car since 1986!

My wife (US car purchases only):

1996 - 2012. Acura 2.2 CL.
2012 - Now. Acura TSX.

[szh]

I'll have enough money saved up to buy a brand new base model truck straight cash.

That is the way to do it!

[gwoods]

I kept my 2007 G35 for over 5 years finally parting ways in October 2012 (purchased July 2007). I actually owned it and the Jag at the same time. I left the G at work and would take it out at lunch to make the Jag jealous. This was the longest I have ever owned a car.

I bought the Jag in September 2012 and its up on craigslist already. Its a fantastic car and I find driving it so rewarding but I really want a Jaguar XJL Supersport or a 85kw Tesla Model S so if I can get what I owe for the Jag I will bid it goodbye otherwise I will keep it until my loan to value reaches trade-in levels every month I put $700 into principle on the loan so it won't take more then 6 months.

My wife kept a 1990 Honda Accord for over 5 years during college, she kept her 2007 Sequoia for over 6 years. I tend to keep a car for a year or two and then get something else I get bored. I deeply miss my first car a 1886 Caprice Classic Brougham with the 305, some nights I dream about it? I also deeply miss my Hemi Ram but I don't miss working on the ram every single month.

*** edited opps forgot about my Jeep, I have a 1965 CJ-5 the worlds longest project car. I bought it in 1996 and it has 72k miles on a odometer that only has space for 5 numbers. I have already given it to my first born son when he starts driving I will sign the title over to him.

[T_wo.and.T_one]

new stuff is nice,but they're no fun when it comes to working on them.

1983 Ford Mustang GT-owned less than a year..
1985 Nissan Maxima GXE -this is the very first car I ever fell in love with, I got it from my mom, all black, Enkei 92s, power everything, 5 speed and a VG30e, fast!-owned almost 10 years.
1989 Nissan 240sx Two Tone Coupe -in progress, still better than new stuff in my opinion.-owned almost 2 years.
2000 Ford Ranger -too new for me, but it gets me back and forth to work.. plus that 4.0 ain't no joke lol..-owned 2 years.
I still have all of em lol.. i'm just starting off tho.
but still..i'd rather fix a car with some wrenches rather than a computer..

[MinisterofDOOM]

My DD tends to hover around the 10-year mark.

My Cadillac was the same age as me when I bought it: 17.
Maxima was 11
Ranger was 6.
Q was 13.
LS was 5 (now 8--I can math!).

My next DD will likely be in the same range...probably a ~2006 STS-V in two or three years.

[gwoods]

But, I have been tempted by the Tesla S recently.

I'll just leave this here for you... (me too! Jag payment + monthly fuel bill = P85 tesla payment)

[IBCoupe]

It could be a sudden culutral realization as Ray put it, but my guess it's just that the overall quality of cars is steadily improving - there's no driving need to replace your DD.

[Jesda]

I've had cars from 3 to 23 years old.

My '91 Saab is now the oldest car (in terms of age at time of ownership, not model year) that I've ever owned.

Typically though, whatever I'm driving tends to be about a decade in age which seems to match the norm for most registered cars on the road.

[Ozzie]

My daily driver just turned 17 years old. Hasn't quite reached 84,000 miles on the clock.




I think it's the newest car I have owned (by year of manufacture), but I once owned a car that was 7 years old at the time of purchase (VS Holden Commodore)

[JTR32gtst]

My DD is my first new truck in 11 years when I got it. It is a 2011 Titan Pro4x I got December 30, 2010. I plan to keep this one for a while also.

The wife DD's her paid for 2007 Xterra we got new January 2007. It has 90K+ miles and runs strong and looks great. Good truck.

The sort of DD before broke is 24 1/2 years old... and I can't wait til she is 25..

[Heavy]

the LS is 17 years old and hit 231,000 the other night. Id really like to keep it but i need a 90s civic or something that gets 100,000,000 mpg. I only drive the 03 350 on the weekends when im back upstate

[alms24sebring]

Hard to think my recently bought car is goin on 10 years old. I remember that year!!

[PEZi]

My DD is from 1998.... and I wish someone would f-ing total it!!! Runs great... just been really bad luck

[Rev_D21]

My DD is a 2012. I drive 80 miles a day to and from work. I can't afford to have a project car as my means of getting to work. I bought a gas sipper, cheapest car in America, the Versa S 5 speed. It's averaging 38MPG using the miles/gallons method. The money I saved from trading my '02 Frontier helps fuel both my RallyX and AutoX project trucks. I could not imagine driving any of my trucks day in and day out and expecting them not to break. With the 2012 I have a warranty. That's all that matters to me. Payments are under $200/month too.

[Looneybomber]

How old is your daily and do you plan on replacing it anytime soon?

Bought my '02 in '04 with 27,500 miles on it. It now has nearly 114k.
I thought about selling it this weekend after killing two spiders in it while driving.

[skydragoness]

A 13 yr old Impreza 2.5RS with 178k on the odo. It's a beast. Survived a timing belt tensioner failure in March and has been running well. Just a squeaky clutch fork and some front suspension parts that need to be replaced due to age. It's a great car but I'm wondering if I should upgrade to a WRX (ugh, bug eyes and blob eyes are so ugly and hawk-eyes are out of my range) or get a 350z. It's nearing the end of August and I'm already getting that "WINTER IS COMING" anxiety so I should probably stay away from RWD for a while. I really dislike the north east. :/

[NolimitZ32]

(ugh, bug eyes and blob eyes are so ugly and hawk-eyes are out of my range)

HOW DARE YOU!?!?!?! bugeyes are the best looking Impreza since the 22B!

[nissangirl74]

I really dislike the north east. :/

Then you should move. To where "winter car care" is a non-issue and neither is rust.

[Loki]

My 240SX turned 20 last month, with almost 101k miles (40k of which are mine). Looking like I'll be picking up a Focus ST next month to take over DD duties.

[Bubba1]

I really dislike the north east. :/

Then you should move. To where "winter car care" is a non-issue and neither is rust.

Methinks she might feel differently about the northeast if she moved away from her present location. I lived in her area for a year before escaping. But the northeast overall is awesome for us car folks.

[krash]

(ugh, bug eyes and blob eyes are so ugly and hawk-eyes are out of my range)

HOW DARE YOU!?!?!?! bugeyes are the best looking Impreza since the 22B!

Sorry man, not a fan of the bug eyes either. The hawk eye is probably my favorite.

My 240 is now 20 years old! 183,000 miles (5 miles on the motor ) It hasn't been my daily in so long, but all that is going to change in the coming months.